This was along the lines of my thinking also, given what Ted said.  Maybe it isnt any big deal.  Performance level is mild with 9 to 1 comression.  But if they arent going to be used, they sure are close to the cylinder wall.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

Unless you could fill the steam holes with a steel insert, there wouldn’t be a strength advantage to doing otherwise.  And ideally plugging the holes with a steel insert would need to be done before deck milling.  I’d recommend just leaving the holes as is in lieu of just filling them up with sealer or epoxy.  The holes in the gasket are more of a problem than the hole in the block as far as gasket failure goes.  The holes in the block and heads on the other hand are just an opportunity for a crack to start out from.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Forgive me for beating this dead horse, Ted.
It is unnerving to find instructions in my quality Fel Pro full gasket set, to drill tiny "steam" holes in my block and heads, especially if they aren't needed.  I will take your advice and NOT drill them.  My block has lasted all these years without a hitch (hole-less), and I trust your experience and skills much more than Fel Pro's.

I am very glad I found this thread, because at this time in my build, NOW is the time to make this decision.  Truthfully, I damn-near followed Fel Pro's instructions to drill all eight holes.  - Dave

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Assuming your head & gasket has the holes already, and you end up with an early block without them (and you decide the extra cooling not worth the risk of a crack starting by drilling the block), what exactly is the action/procedure that should be followed (if any)?

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

I drilled the extra steam hole in my heads and block of any yblock  I'm building, it seems the help the engine run alittle cooler which I'm in favor of. But I don't believe it's by know means a must do if your engine runs cool enough as it is. My reasoning for doing it is because the exhaust in the middle are close enough to create a hot spot.

-Gary Burnette-

When I heard these tiny holes are for steam, I said to myself, "Yeah, right."
Then I thought of how much (or how little) water pressure there is.  Aint no way any meaningful water is going to flow through these small holes.  Steam, causes LOTS of pressure, and shoots through the smallest openings.  So ok, I'll buy the 'steam' theory.

First of all, I'm not building a race engine to go in a two ton Galaxie.  Is it an early engine?  They came out in '54, mine is a '59, and I believe trucks still used the 292 in '62.  Mine is in the middle of Ford's production run which means, for five years before mine, Ford didn't need extra holes but now they do.

Ok, so what to believe?  The guys with the most experience, practicing their talents and skills.  If Ted says, "No need for holes," then that's good enough for my 292.

The holes will still remain in the Fel-Pro head gaskets, but I won't drill my iron.

Dave Dare

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Dave.  Thanks for the reinforcement on the sizing of the ‘steam holes’ not contributing heavily to actual cooling.  That mirrors my sentiments.  I’ve actually had to downsize the intermediate cooling holes in the decks on the small block Fords in which to decrease overall heating temperatures or prevent overheating in certain instances.

For all.  What must be remembered is that the coolant for the Y circulates into the block and to the rear of the engine at which point it then enters the head and comes forward again to enter the intake manifold and then back to the radiator.  Any coolant holes placed in the block deck and heads prior to the rear of the engine circumvents the coolant reaching the rear of the block and in turn permits the rear of the engine and heads to run warmer.  It’s a fine balance to equalize the temperatures throughout the block and heads without abnormally large variances in coolant temperatures being present throughout.

Bill.  In rereading this post from its beginning, I noticed you did not get an answer to what was a pertinent question.  The simple answer is that the 400 scrub utilizes siamese cylinder walls which essentially prevents air from from being relieved between the lower sides of the cylinders and hence the need for ‘steam’ holes.  These holes allow pockets of air to be vented out and instead allows coolant to fill those voids.  But as you mention, there are many documented problems with these particular blocks in regards to cracks fanning out from the steam holes in the decks.  But in this case, the steam holes and the resultant cracks are obviously a deterent to the larger problem of hot pockets that would exist otherwise.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

It's been mentioned here before that 113 heads are more prone to cracking between the exhaust valves than other Y heads. So, even though the extra holes won't pass a lot of coolant, wouldn't they be of some benefit in the case of these heads?

Paul

WOW! I'm almost afraid to weigh-in here. From my observation the steam holes were added in 1961. C0AE and C0TE heads don't have them and C1AE heads do. I can't recall ever seeing a C1TE that didn't but a suppose it is possible.

Steam hole is probably a misnomer. Additional cooling hole would be more accurate. The adjacent exhaust valves/ports put additional heat in this area. The holes are meant to supply additional cooling water from the block to this area.

Regarding the size, in most of the heads I pull off that have them the holes are plugged with crude, so they probably didn't do much. In theory they are probably a good idea but in practice they might not have helped much.

I don't think the -113 heads are any more prone to cracking than ECZ-G or -471 heads. I find all these about 30% cracked. ECZ-C heads crack between the center exhaust springs, under the valve cover but this is not as common. ECL heads crack between the intake and exhaust seats.

I think that stuck heat risers in the exhaust caused as many cracked heads as anything. The 57 later heads always crack in the exhaust seat connecting to the crossover passage first. If they're not cracked there, they probably aren't cracked anywhere.

I have never seen a crack extending from one of the steam holes either in a block or a head. BUT, I have no testing to prove that they helped or hurt head gaskets or cooling.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

Good point on the plugging John.  The relativey " new block" I ordered the steele gaskets from you for, has at least one of the smaller holes plugged, in the 64 pickup.  Will punch out the plug and flush the system after all its back together.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.